


Emerald

by FFW2000



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, After the Fall of Beacon, Boarding School, Combat, Creatures of Grimm - Freeform, Friendship, Grimm - Freeform, Monsters, Shade Academy, Vacuo (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25365094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FFW2000/pseuds/FFW2000
Summary: Ember Dandee managed to survive the Fall of Beacon and know she is a starting at Shade Academy. Follow Ember's story as she trains to become the greats Huntress she can be.





	1. Ember

**Chapter 1: Ember**

The small farming village of Autumnbrook in the Kingdom of Vale never had much in the way of wealth and never stood out on any maps, but to Ember Dandee the small peaceful village is where she calls home. Like most other families in the village, the Dandee's had little money to spend as most of what the village earned from selling crops went towards the hiring of Huntsman and Huntresses to keep them safe from the forces of Grimm. But Ember was happy with what she had. Ember had a loving family and plenty of friends and despite not having many toys or area's to play Ember had a happy childhood.

Growing up her parents tried to train Ember to work in the fields growing crops to sell in Vale, but their daughter had no interest in farming as her eyes were squarely on the Huntsmen that protected her village. To Ember, the brave men and women that would come and go from her village were hero's and she idealised them from the moment she saw them take down a small pack of Beowolf's that attacked Autumnbrook. Watching them protect everyone without hesitating to put their lives in danger made Ember want to be just like them from a young age.

Ember would save up every bit of Lien her parents gave her and on her rare trips to Vale where her parents and others from the village would go to sell their crops Ember would make her parents take her to bookshops where she would buy books telling stories of the adventures of Huntsmen. Every book became a tressure to Ember, and every page would end up with small tears from the number of times she would read the stories over and over again. With every story she read, Ember felt her dream glowing brighter within her, and soon she would take other steps to fulfil her goal of becoming a Huntress.

It took Ember some time, but she finally worked up the courage to approach an elderly Hunstman who has been protecting Autumnbrook for nearly ten years. Ember can't remember his name but his face scared her as his pale blue eyes seemed soulless while his wrinkled body while still strong with powerful muscles it was severely scarred at the same time with claw and teeth marks all over his flesh. The man's cold stare scared her, but Ember clenched her fists determined to fulfil her dream.

"Can… can you please… train me…" Ember couldn't look up at the man as she nervously asks her question. Fear of the man and fear of his rejection causes butterflies to flutter in her stomach. "I want… I want to be a Huntress… I want to protect people… like you do…"

Silence. The silence that followed seemed to go on forever and with each passing second Ember felt herself becoming more and more convinced that he would reject her but just when she was about to run away hurt and embarrassed that painful silence was shattered by a billowing laugh. Looking up, Ember saw the older man laughing and smiling. At first, she thought he was going to make fun of her, but when he spoke, those fears were shattered.

"Well, you certainly got the right attitude," The man smiles at her. "You remind me of myself when I was your age so I'll go talk to your parents and if they agree to let me train you we will start tomorrow."

Ember couldn't help but smile hearing that and wanted to lead the man home right away to get her parents permission, but he reminded her that they were both working right now, so it had to wait. So Ember waited and waited sitting by her front door waiting for her parents to come home and when she saw them she couldn't stop herself from running up to them excited to tell them about what the Huntsmen said only to find the older man has beat her to it.

Well reluctant at first her parents agreed to let the elderly Huntsmen train their daughter and Ember felt like cheering. Ember's parents were, of course, worried about their daughter and wanted her to do something less dangerous but seeing their daughters passion for becoming a Huntress swayed their choose. The fact that the elderly Huntsmen had long since earned the trust of everyone in the village also helped them agree to let him train Ember.

If Ember though her training would be easy, she would be wrong. Ember thought she would be trained in combat and how to fight Grimm, but she was wrong. Instead of being trained for combat, the Huntsmen would make her run and do push-ups, sit-ups and other forms of exercise to strengthen her body as well as activities designed to awaken Ember's Aura. After months of training, Ember found her body strengthened but started to complain about not begin taught how to fight to which the elderly Huntsmen would laugh.

"You need the strength to fight first," He would tell her, and although Ember would try to believe him, she found herself being more frustrated with each day that ends without her learning how to fight.

Finally though once Ember could easily use her Aura, the elderly Huntsmen handed her a wooden training sword and smiled telling her she's ready to learn how to fight. Ember couldn't have been happier and dived right into training finding the combat lessons much more enjoyable then the rigorous excise sessions she was doing before. Ember still had to jog every morning and start her training sessions with some exercises, but most of her time was now spent on learning how to fight with her bare hands and weapons.

Through experimenting with different weapons, Ember learned her talent for close-quarter combat with short-bladed weapons while also learning of her weakness for ranged combat as when she tried to fire a gun she missed every target she aimed for. After more practice Ember started using to shortswords for combat and the elderly Huntsmen helped her develop her fighting skills for those weapons, and soon Ember was handed real swords in place of her training ones. Her parents were alarmed, but the elderly Huntsmen managed to calm them assuring Embers parents that this was a natural progression of their daughter's training and that she was more than able to handle the weapons.

For nearly a year Ember trained within Autumnbrook and soon other Huntsmen and Huntresses to an interest in her letting Ember spar with them and telling the young girl stories of their past jobs. Ember drank in every word enjoy the tales and picturing herself in their place as they told her about all the battles they fought and people they saved. Soon they even started letting Ember assist them with their work. It started off as only small jobs like making them tea and helping them set up and take down equipment, but soon they also let Ember go on patrol with them. Autumnbrook had very few Grimm attacks, and most of the creatures of Grimm in the area weren't that much of a threat to the experienced Huntsmen so no one objected to Ember going with them but one day that all changed.

Ember went alone into the forest around Autumnbrook with the elderly Huntsmen to investigate some strange sounds the everyone in the village had been hearing. Everyone thought it was only a wounded animal that lost a battle for territory with a Grimm, but soon Ember and the Elderly hUntsmen would see that it was much worse than that.

A wounded wolf was dying in a small opening in the woods, but there was also a creature of Grimm standing over the dying beast. Usually, the only creatures of Grimm the people of Autumnbrook would see are Beowolf's and Ursa's, but this time Ember finds herself face to face with Death Stalker that Ember notices even has the elderly Hunstmen nervous. They tried to back up, but a branch broke under Ember's feet alerting the Death Stalker to their presence. Seeing no other options, the elderly Huntsmen told Ember to run while he draws his great axe and charged to Grimm. But Ember couldn't run, she couldn't do anything as she found her feet frozen with fear.

But while she was frozen Ember found a strength within herself. As she watched the elderly Huntsmen fighting the Death Stalker putting his life on the line to save hers, Ember remembered the stories she read and told herself. **_"I won't be able to become a Huntress if I freeze up like this,"_** Freeing her feet from the grasp of fear Ember ran. She didn't like the idea of abandoning the man who took her on as his apprentice, but Ember knew she would only get in the way if she stayed behind. So Ember ran away, and she kept running until she reached the village and told the other Huntsmen what had happened.

The Huntsmen told her to stay, but Ember refused running ahead of the group, guiding them to where the elderly Huntsmen was still fighting the Death Stalker. When they arrived, they arrived just in time to see the elderly Huntsmen getting knock into a tree and then pinned under the trunk. If it weren't for the other Huntsmen attack the Grimm, he would have died then as the creature started to approach him.

Seeing an opening as the Death Stalker was fighting the other Huntsmen Ember when to the elderly Huntsmen to find his right leg trapped under the trunk of the collapsed tree. Ember's face paled at the sight of blood, and she almost throw up, but the moment she saw fear in the elderly Huntsmen's eyes Ember knew she had to do something. Not seeing another way to help Ember tried to move the tree trunk but it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried. The elderly Huntsmen told her to leave him, but Ember could and continued to try to move the trunk wish for the strength to save the man who taught her so much, and to her surprise, the trunk moved. With one push the trunk was off the elderly Huntsmens leg, and he was free, but Ember couldn't celebrate as the moment the trunk was moved she blacked out.

When Ember woke up, she found that two days had passed since the day she moved the trunk, and she was back home in her bed. Her parents quickly hugged her and cried, seeing that she was finally awake. After an hour of assuring them, she was okay Ember finally go her parents to tell her what happened. She learned that the Death Stalker was defeated, but the Huntsmen and the elderly Huntsmen was alive but had to go to Vale for medical treatment so was no longer in the village. When she asked them how she was able to move the tree trunk Ember was told by her parents that the Huntsmen told them it was her Semblances activating and Ember's eyes widened with excitement.

Ember remembered the stories in her books about the Huntsmen using their Semblances to overcome powerful foes and saving the day. Ember was so excited that she wanted to train to use her Semblances right away that her parents had to force her to stay in bed before they delivered the devastating news. The elderly Huntsmen and the other that was in the forest that day told her parents not to let her use her Semblances. Ember listened on the verge of tears when her parents repeated what the Huntsmen had told them, that her Semblances is dangerous for her to use as it drains bother their daughter's Semblances and stamina at a rapid pace.

Quietly accepting those words, Ember laid back in her bed about to cry when she received some good news. At first, Ember couldn't believe it when her parent's told her, but when they repeated it, Ember hugged them as her parents agreed to let her go to a combat school in a years time once she was old enough to enrol. Ember couldn't help but smile and cheer despite the bad news about her Semblances as she found her dream of becoming a Huntress to be right around the corner. As thanks for saving the elderly Huntsmen, the other Huntsmen and Huntresses in the village agreed to escort Ember to Signal Academy and even pay for the daily necessities she would need. The next morning when her parents finally let her leave the house Ember thanked each, and every one of the Huntsmen and several of them even offered to let her train with them.

Ember's time at Signal Academy was no different than her time training with the elderly Huntsmen as she would train to strengthen her body and to enhance her combat skills. Ember still struggled with ranged combat and excelled at close quarters, but now she also found something else she failed at. During her time in the classrooms learning about history and Grimm, Ember struggled to keep up and barely passed her test thanks to the help of her classmates. Ember couldn't understand why she needed to learn all those things, but she didn't complain and just trusted her instructors knew what they were doing like that elderly huntsman who trained her in the past.

But despite the struggles in the classroom and embarrassment during the ranged combat drills, Ember enjoyed her life at Signal significantly improving hers skills and crafting her own weapon she named Burning Ace after the way the blades look when she swang them with dust infused into the metal. Ember made herself a pair of kukri's that offered no ranged attacks but worked well up close suiting Ember nicely.

Ember's parent's visited her from time to time, and Ember would return home during school breaks, but one visit had Ember more excited than any other as this time her parents would come to see her during the Vytal Festival. Ember was looking forward to watching the tournament and seeing her parents, but unfortunately, that day wouldn't hold the happiness that Ember thought it would.

During the tournament when the Grimm attacked Vale Ember and her parents were eating dining in a restaurant while watching the finals on TV when screams filled the streets outside. Looking out the window Ember was shocked to see Atlesian Knight's firing at the sky while flying Grimm dived down at people carrying several victims off as they screamed for help. Soon Beowolf's started to appear on the streets, and one of them crashed through the restaurant window, but Ember managed to dispatch it before anyone inside was hurt. Seeing everyone was now looking at her Ember told them to get to find someplace safe to hide before seeing steps out onto the street seeing more Beowolf's closing in.

At first, the fight was going well for Ember as she was able to defeat several Beowolf's and with the help of the Atlesian Knight's she managed to keep the Grimm out of the restaurant, but all that changed once she looked up to see an Atlas ship firing and destroying one of its own and the Atlesian Knight's suddenly turned on her. No only Ember couldn't hold back the Grimm tied, and soon she was overwhelmed, and she could hear the screams of her parents and people in the restaurant as the Grimm found them. Ember could do nothing to save them as several Beowolf's and Atlesian Knight's had her surrounded. Ember continued to fight hoping someone might be alive, but as she defeated her next foe a shot from an Atlesian Knight broke her Aura, and a Beowolf's claw slashed her across the face dealing a large wound that would leave a scar.

Laying there seeing nothing but red as blood poured from her wound Ember thought she was going to die as she heard the Beowolf's closing in on her crushing glass as they come closer and closer. Ember closed her eyes, waiting for the end to come only for the sounds of gunshots to force her eyes to snap open. Several Huntsmen and Huntresses arrive just in time to save her and soon Ember is evacuated.

The next through days are painful for Ember as she learns of her parent's death and the destruction of Autumnbrook. The only good news Ember received over those painful days was that most of the villagers managed to escape thanks to the Huntsmen protecting Autumnbrook, but that did little to cheer Ember up as she still lost everything. For days Ember barely kept going and it was only when she heard that the Academies in other kingdoms were accepting students from Vale that Ember found something to keep her going. Her dream of becoming a Huntress, a dream her parents supported was enough to give Ember a glimmer of hope to keep moving forward. Ember was accepted into Shade Academy and became determined to be the best Huntress she can be to make her parents proud. As she left for Vacuo, Ember silently vowed to herself to not let anyone feel the same pain she has suffered through.

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AN

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For more information on this character you can visit her page at: <https://rwbyfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Ember_Dandee>


	2. Marigold

**Chapter 2: Marigold**

Marigold or Maria for short has never stayed in one place for too long as her tribe constantly moved locations across the desert of Vacuo. The reasons they had to move varied from the Grimm to forming sinkholes that could sallow the tribe whole. The reasons for the move didn't matter to Maria as she never felt attached to anyplace the tribe stayed, but Maria found part of her wishing to stay in one place for a long stretch of time.

The desert of Vacuo has always been a harsh place, and Maria learned that from a young age as both her parents died before she turned five and by the age of ten Maria already knew how to use a weapon. Maria was in no way an expert with her weapon, but she could at least defend herself and stay alive before the more experienced hunters of the tribe come to her aid.

All in all, Maria's life was full of hardship and sorrow, fun and laughter. Life in Maria's tribe would very with one day everyone would be happy and smiling, and others they would be fighting for her life. Enjoyment and danger affected everyone the same no matter how young or old they were and Maria learned that all too well days after her eleventh birthday.

Well, Maria was out patrolling the camp her tribe set up nearly a week prior a sinkhole formed under Maria's feet swallowing her whole. Maria knew no one would come looking for her the moment she went up. People go missing in Vacuo all the time so her suddenly disappearing wouldn't raise any eyebrows. So alone in the dark of an underground cave, all Maria could do was hug herself and cry as the suffocating darkness caused fear to flood her mind. Maria always feared the dark ever since the night when bat-like Grimm attacked her tribe.

Maria shock and cried doing her best to control herself as the elders of the tribe have consistently warned of the ability the Grimm have to be drawn by negative emotions, but she could hide her fear. All Maria wished for was light, just a little bit of light in the darkness, and to her surprise, she found her body become light. Blinking in surprise, Maria found her body glowing and although she couldn't see far she could make out the area around her. Finding strength in the light, Maria picked herself up and started to walk.

It took hours but when Maria finally saw a light that she wasn't admitting her heart soared and she ran towards that light finding a small hole that she was just barely able to squeeze herself through and return to the desert sand. By the time she returned to the surface, the sun had set and looking around Maria could barely make out the torches of her tribes camp in the distance. It took until sunrise before Maria reached her tribes camp when she returned the people on watch were surprised to see her thinking she was killed by a Grimm well out on patrol.

When Maria explained what happened the tribe elders told her that glow was her Semblance and that it was normal and everybody had one then they gave Maria a choose as was a costume in the tribe. The tribe elder said that Maria could go and train at a combat school or become train to become a guard in the tribe under one of the veteran worries of the tribe. As painful as it was to leave the tribe, Maria chooses to go the school as the idea of staying in one place for more than a few weeks sounded like a pleasant change. The elder accepted her choice saying whether Maria returns to the tribe or becomes a huntress is up to her, and whatever she chooses, she would always be welcomed back to the tribe.

When Maria came of age to enter the combat school, she left the tribe and enrolled in Oscuro Academy, where she began her training. At first, Maria struggled to finding herself with a dislike for combat, but she soon found skills she excelled at and began to enjoy her lessons. Making friends and discovering an interest in reading romance and adventure novels Maria really enjoyed her school life and soon enrolled in Shade Academy.

* * *

**AN**

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For more information on this character you can visit her page at: <https://rwbyfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Marigold_Sno>


	3. Rose

**Chapter 3: Rose**

Rose was brought up to have no ties to the people around her and to focus only on improving herself. To the tribe, Rose was brought up in death was a daily event due to Grimm and bandits although attacks by bandits were rare due to her tribe's reputation as fierce warriors. Moving at night and hiding during the day the tribe learned to use stealth to their advantage and passed that knowledge down to its children like Rose.

Rose soon learned growing up that fun and play was a waste and training was important as the tribe drilled its children relentlessly in the use of weapons and the ability to hide. By the time she turned ten Rose like every other child of the tribe who survived that long knew the basics of combat and stealth, and they were giving their first work details. For most children, their jobs involved scouting and patrolling their camps surrounds but for children like Rose who excelled in stealth they become hunters for the tribe picking off antelopes during the day and bats at night. Rose enjoyed the life of a hunter and soon started using her fox noise to track down animals after the tribe's hunters lost their tracks. To Rose hearing, her tribe's praise was the only happiness she felt, but she learned to hide her smiles as the tribe frowned upon showing emotions.

When she turned twelve, the tribe headed for a settlement that was one of the few permanent settlements in Vacuo housed a combat school Rose at first thought they were only there to trade but found the tribe had another idea's for her. Seeing her talent, the tribe had Rose enrol at the combat school telling her that it was for the best and the tribe would be stronger if she trained her, but Rose couldn't help but feel hurt seeing the only family she has abandoned her, but she didn't cry or look sad haven learned long ago how to hide what she feels Rose just nodded and accepted an axe/crossbow from the tribe as a parting gift.

"Grow strong and come back to us," Those where the last words Rose heard from her tribe before they vanished into the desert of Vacuo.

But her journey to Shade wasn't easy as for the first time in her life Rose found herself wondering the desert sands alone. Her tribe refused to move with her like they did on her way to the combat school and the other students heading to Shade Acadamy wouldn't let her travel with their tribes because of the reputation Rose's tribe has. Again Rose was reminded about how little she knew of the world as Rose started hearing about her tribe pouching of tribes game and even heard some whispers of her tribe being thieves and assassins but despite Rose denying those accusations they still refused to let her travel with them to the City of Vacuo where Shade Acadamy is located.

So alone with only the supplies, she can carry, and the weapon on her back Rose travelled the desert doing her best to trail other tribes without being spotted but one day a sandstorm blow in and destroyed her plans. During the sandstorm, Rose lost sight of the tribe she was trailing and couldn't even open her eyes without being blinding by grains of sand.

The sole pair of googles Rose had broken several days ago, leaving the young girl defenceless to the elements. But as Rose prayed for a break in the storm, she began to notice something. The sand from the storm no longer battered her body. Opening her eyes, Rose noticed the storm was still going on, but it kept clear of her body keeping a few centimetres away from her. Falling to her knees, Rose began to laugh at first realising that this was her Person Power, her Semblances and wished she had it before having been caught outside in sandstorms before during her hunts.

Finally, after getting used to the sight of the sand avoiding her body, Rose began to walk once again and with her noise now clear of sand she could find the tribe she was following again from the scent of its people. Finding a place nearby where she could wait out the storm and monitor the tribe, Rose rested as she waited.

When the storm passed it only too two days to reach Vacuo where Rose began her new life at Shade Acadamy.

* * *

AN

* * *

For more information on this character you can visit her page at:

<https://rwbyfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Rose_Scarlet>


	4. Lave

** Chapter 4: Lave **

While most people see the beauty of the world, Lave grew up seeing nothing. For as long as she can remember her world was a black void of nothing but the sounds of people going about their daily lives unaware of how this little girl couldn’t share their gift for seeing the world around them. Her parents never let Lave out of their sight, and their daughter relyed on them to live her life continually holding their hands as she struggled to make her way through the day. All that changed when she was six and Lave said the words that will restart her life.

“Mommy, daddy, you’re pretty,” Lave mentioned one morning while smiling at her parents, causing them to wonder what she meant.

“What do you mean by that honey?” Her mother questioned wondering how her child who couldn’t see would know something like that thinking Lavi just overheard someone saying that.

“The light around your mommy is pretty,” Lave says, staring at her parents. “And the light around daddy is also pretty.”

“What do you mean by light dear?” Her mother kneeled down in front of her daughter as her husband came closer.

“You are both surrounded by a pretty light,” Lave answers.

“What can you see?” Lave’s father questions.

“Something bright surrounded by a light,” Lave answered and her parents looked at each other and nodded in agreement about what was happening.

Sitting their daughter down at the table Lave’s parents explained to her about Semblances and Aura dumbing it down for their young child but making sure that Lave understood what was happening to her and what she was seeing. Her parents were happy with Lave and grateful their daughter could see now and slowly they helped Lave grow her Semblances explaining the colours Lave could see and helping her understand the world she could now see to some degree.

As Lave grew older, her Semblances grew stronger, and at first, she had to be close to see the light of people’s Aura, but soon she could see people from further away until her mother told her that Lave was now seeing at an average distance for a person. Soon Lave could see the outlines of buildings, but she couldn’t tell what each building was and needed even her mother or father to tell her what she was looking at. Then one day Lave saw something that scared her.

One night when she was walking home with her mother, Lave just happened to look up and became frozen in place when she saw her first of the soulless creatures of Grimm. Ravager’s attacked the city of Vacuo, but all Lave saw was black voids far darker then anything she had seen before as if their sole purpose in life was to take the light from the world around them. Lave started shaking and collapsed to her knees, worry her mother, who looked to where her daughter pointed when she asked what is wrong. It took a moment for her mother to see the Ravager’s approaching in the darkness of night, but once she saw them, she quickly picked up her daughter and was about to run when she saw something else moving in the night.

“Lavey dear look over there,” Her mother said and when she looked Lavi noticed people with brighter lights of Auro charging the black voids.

“Who are they?” Lave was mesmerised by the sight of the Huntsmen attacking the Ravager’s feeling drawn to their light like a moth to a flame.

“They are Huntsmen, my dear,” Lave’s mother smiled. “They are the people who protect us all from the monsters of this world.”

“Can I be one?” Lave wondered while imagining her own light shining as brightly as the people fighting the Grimm.

“One-day sweety,” Her mother said not wanting to hurt her daughter by saying she couldn’t with her eyes.

When she came home that day Lave instantly starting running and jumping around her home excitedly proclaiming that she was going to be a shinning Huntsmen when she grew up, while her parents were happy to see this side of their daughter they also worried about losing her and decided that in the morning they would spar with their daughter hoping that when she tastes combat Lave would forget about becoming a Huntress in the future.

The next morning they were in for a surprise as despite losing every match Lave only grew more determined to win and seemed happier while fight which she later explained to be because of how her parent’s Aura would shine brighter during their sparring matches. In the end, Lave’s parent’s deciding to train their daughter in the hope that this Huntress phase would quickly pass, but they were wrong.

Over the years Lave’s dream of becoming a Huntress remained, and she found ways to overcome her vision problems and lack of strength through spars with her father while her mother helped Lave learn how to move around. From her father, Lave learned how to dodge and evade strikes while landing quick blows of her own and from her mother, Lave learned how to move quickly through the city as her mother taught her about parkour something which she learned as a child. While at first the lessons where hard and Lave usually received some kind of injuries mainly due to her unwillingness to give in they soon became fun as Lave mastered the basics of combat and took after her mother excelling at parkour.

When the day finally came for Lave to enter a combat school, her parents were happy, sad and worried at the same time despite their daughter not leaving home. They worried about how the other kids will treat a blind girl in the survival of the fittest culture that is Vacuo, but they saw their daughter off with a smile and warm words not wanting to worry her.

During her time at the combat school, Lave did receive some forms of bullying in the beginning, but that soon stopped when the other students saw her combat skills and slowly started to accept her. Lave improved her combat skills and but struggled in class due to her inability to read, but her classmate's world read for her, and the teacher would approach Lave making sure she understood what he was writing down. In her final year, Lave forged her own weapon a revolver combined with a shortsword she named Serenity.

Now Lave is about to enter Shade Acadamy and start the next phase of her life and despite her parents worry they still support their daughters dream of becoming a shinning Huntress.

* * *

AN

* * *

For more information on this character you can visit her page at:

<https://rwbyfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Lave_Lapis>


End file.
